Confirmation came last week that a wren hanging out at a remote Cherry County ranchstead was, in fact, a Canyon Wren, a species with only three other accepted Nebraska records. The last “chase-able” Canyon Wren in the state was a bird in Knox County in 1992. I missed that bird, so I was motivated not to miss this one. I woke up at 3:45 a.m. on Sunday morning and was on the road about an hour later. The location was off the highway about twenty miles and the last three miles were a snowy two-track back to the ranch house. Getting to the spot was the challenging part because once I got there it did not take long to spot the wren. Furthermore, he was very cooperative and I got a number of photographs, including a few of him checking out my vehicle. Below, are a few of these photos.
The only downside was missing out on seeing a state’s first Anna’s Hummingbird that was reported at an Omaha feeder late Saturday afternoon. Hopefully that bird sticks around long enough for me to get a opportunity to see it.
Good birding!
Many thanks to the Mary Sue and Ross Shoemaker and Jan Johnson for making this adventure possible.
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